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Gillian Lennox
'Gillian Lennox '(sometimes called Jill for short) is the protagonist in Dark Angel. She is a descendant of Elspeth Harman, a lost witch, the cousin of the late Gary Fargeon and the soulmate of David Blackburn. After she discovered her heritage and helped Gary move on to the afterlife, she and David joined Circle Daybreak. History Gillian is the only child of Gwen and Ted Lennox. When Gillian was still a child, her mother began having hallucinations and drinking a lot; this made her neglectful of Gillian and caused tension between her parents. Gillian was often lonely and sad growing up; she had few friends, was embarrassed by her mother's alcoholism and wished she could be popular and confident. When Gillian was twelve, she was playing in the snow on a winter's day, when a large pile of snow fell on top of her. She was rescued by David Blackburn, one of her classmates. Gillian was instantly attracted to him and developed a strong crush on David in high school; however, to her disappointment, David was already dating Tanya Jun and didn't even seem to remember her. Gillian was generally ignored or overlooked both at home and at school, and her self-confidence plummeted as a result. Dark Angel Gillian, now sixteen, is walking home from school one day along Hillcrest Road, when she hears a child crying in the woods. Gillian, worried that the child could be in trouble, goes to investigate and ends up near the river. Unfortunately, Gillian slips into the icy water. She manages to drag herself out before she drowns, but ends up with severe hypothermia and collapses in the woods, soon dying from the cold. Gillian finds herself in a vast green meadow, where she is greeted by a handsome boy who calls himself 'Angel'. He tells Gillian that she wasn't "meant" to die yet and so she has a choice as to whether or not she wants to go back. After considering her options, Gillian decides she does want to live and wakes up in her body back in the woods. Gillian makes it back to the road, where she is picked up by David and Tanya, who take her home and tend to her. Gillian is humiliated when she overhears Tanya and David talking about how childish she seems for her age. However, she cheers up when Angel reappears in her bedroom. Angel tells Gillian he is her guardian angel and offers to help her get the things she wants and live life to the fullest. Under Angel's instructions, Gillian makes drastic changes to her appearance, cutting her hair very short, wearing make-up and dressing in sophisticated and revealing clothes. Angel gives Gillian advice on what to say in school; as a result, she appears confident, funny and outgoing. She is quickly accepted by the popular crowd, with the exception of Tanya, who believes that Gillian is trying to steal David away from her. Angel helps Gillian get rid of Tanya by having Gillian confront her about cheating on David, whilst he is standing outside. David breaks up with Tanya and later agrees to go with Gillian to her first 'popular' party, as he has finally started to notice her since her make-over and has become attracted to her. At the party, though, Gillian overhears that Tanya and another girl named Kim are plotting to get revenge by doing something nasty to Gillian and revealing that Tanya helped David cheat on his English exam, which could potentially ruin his life. Gillian is determined to find a way to stop them. Angel then reveals to Gillian that she is in fact a lost witch, on her mother's side, and that her mother's 'hallucinations' are caused by her powers, not her drinking. It also explains earlier incidents in which Gillian's bathroom mirror and a window at school broke suddenly; they were caused by Gillian inadvertently lashing out with her power in anger or distress. Angel guides Gillian to a witch store, where she meets Melusine. Gillian buys two wax dolls and some other ingredients to put a spell on Tanya and Kim. Under Angel's guidance, Gillian gives Kim a sore throat, disabling her from talking and thus preventing her from spreading rumors, and gives Tanya what she believes is a rash on her arm, so that she can't write or type. Gillian is pleased that the spell worked, reveling in her new-found powers. However, Gillian begins to have doubts about Angel when he leads her to a Night World club filled with vampires, who react aggressively towards her. Gillian is extremely uncomfortable and begins to become quite afraid, until one vampire leads her out of the club. He doesn't believe she's a witch and Gillian is too frightened to tell him otherwise; however, due a human girl he met last summer, he spares her and tells her to leave, if she values her life. Against Angel's wishes, Gillian does so, realizing now that the Night World can be a dark and dangerous place, where she doesn't belong. Angel tells Gillian they are soulmates but Gillian gradually becomes disillusioned with Angel and suspicious of his true intentions. She is horrified when she learns that Angel tricked her into giving Tanya a flesh-eating bacteria, which landed her in hospital and may result in her losing her arm, and by the fact that Angel's make-over has caused her to alienate her old friend and lose her identity. Gillian attempts, unsuccessfully, to remove the spell on Tanya and Kim. One night, she is driving with David when Angel tries to take control of the wheel; Gillian realizes he intends to crash the car and kill David, so he can possess his body. Gillian tries to stop him and ends up crashing, but fortunately, both she and David are unharmed. Gillian realizes that David, not angel, is her soulmate, and she now believes that Angel is some kind of demon. Gillian tells David everything - to her surprise, he believes and accepts her, and encourages her to go to Melusine to get help. Melusine helps Gillian remove the spells on Tanya and Kim; she also tells Gillian she is likely one of the lost Harman babies and tells her about Circle Daybreak. Melusine also doesn't believe that Angel is actually a demon, but a spirit who cannot move on to the afterlife. Melusine recommends that Gillian try to find out his true identity and what is keeping him on earth. Gillian meets Angel in the local cemetery. She eventually manages to convince Angel to tell her who is really is - his real name is Gary Fargeon. It turns out that he is also a lost witch and a distant cousin of Gillian's. However, Gary wasted his life, constantly partying, messing around and only looking out for himself. He was the one crying like a child the day Gillian died of hypothermia, as he felt lost and alone, and was trying to lure her to him. Gary, at Gillian's urging, reveals that he is responsible for the death of Paula Belizer, a young girl who disappeared in the woods a year ago. After accidentally killing her performing a dangerous spell, Gary was killed in a drink driving accident and so couldn't go to the afterlife. Gillian convinces Gary to tell her where Paula's body is, saying that Gary needs to find peace and that Paula's family deserve closure. Gillian and David dig up Paula's body and contact the police, claiming they found it whilst building a snow fort. Gillian and David watch as Paula's body is exhumed and overhear Paula's father say he forgives whoever did this. Gillian then tells Gary that she forgives him too, and thanks him for helping to make her more confident. She then watches as Gary ascends to the afterlife. Gillian decides that she no longer cares about being popular, as there are far more important things; being true to herself is one of them. Other novels It is revealed in Soulmate ''that Gillian and David joined Circle Daybreak. Gillian is briefly seen in Thierry Descouedres's mansion with David and several other soulmate couples, and is introduced to Hannah Snow. Sylvia Weald's comments in ''Black Dawn about lost witches descended from Harman women being welcomed into the family with open arms would also suggest that Gillian found her other relatives and was accepted as a Hearth-Woman. She is mentioned in Witchlight ''as having been a potential candidate of the Wild Power prophecy, though this was disproven. She is, however, revealed to be distant cousins with the true Wild Power, Iliana Dominick - they are both the great-granddaughters of Elspeth Harman. Gillian is set to appear in ''Strange Fate. Physical Appearance Gillian is small in stature and fair-skinned. She has white-blonde hair and violet eyes. Gillian is quite beautiful - her features are described as "delicate" with a "pretty bone structure" - but at the start of Dark Angel, this is overshadowed by her generally childish appearance. Gillian wears her hair long and often uses it to cover her face. As a result, she looks far younger than her true age; she is mistaken at least twice in the novel for being a thirteen or fourteen year old. Part way through the book - at Angel's suggestion - Gillian makes radical changes to her appearance, cutting her hair into a "ragged St Joan bob", dressing more maturely and wearing make-up. As a result, her natural beauty shows more and she looks more like a sixteen year old than a fourteen year old. She is said to resemble a "Parisian model" in looks. Personality At the beginning of Dark Angel, Gillian is very shy and unconfident, despising herself and her life. She desires to be popular and get invited to parties, and is embarrassed by her alcoholic mother. In spite of this, Gillian does have courage, as she goes into the woods in an attempt to rescue what she thought was a lost child. Under Angel's guidance, Gillian's personality changes drastically. She becomes far more confident, outspoken and comfortable in her own skin. She is still uncomfortable with idea of causing physical or emotional harm to others, but begins to lose this value due to Angel's influence. However, Gillian is horrified when she realizes that she is becoming a malicious and vengeful person, totally unlike her former self. By the end of the novel, Gillian has become far more mature and wise, realizing that there are more important things than being popular, such as having genuine friends and staying true to oneself. She values life and compassion, and decides to join Circle Daybreak as a result, to use her abilities to make positive changes to the world. Etymology * Gillian's name is a female derivative of the Roman name Julius, which in Latin can mean "belonging, or devoted, to Jupiter". Jupiter was the Latin king of the gods and the god of storms, as well as the Roman counterpart of the Greek god Zeus. * Her surname, Lennox, is a Scottish one, derived from the Old Gaelic word 'leamhan', meaning 'elm field'. Trivia *Despite being a lost witch raised among humans since birth, Gillian actually has a name in keeping with the witch tradition of deity-related names. * Gillian's white-blonde hair and violet eyes are a clear indicator of her Harman heritage - many Harman girls and women have these physical traits. * Gillian shares her habit of using her hair (prior to cutting it short) as a "veil" to hide behind when she feels shy or unconfident with another character in the series: Jade Redfern. They both also have white-blonde hair; interestingly, they are also distantly related. * Gary claimed that Gillian was a member of Circle Midnight; however, given her status as a lost witch, it is unknown how true this statement was. Given that Gillian is now a member of Circle Daybreak, this may be considered a moot point. * Gillian is nicknamed "dragonfly" by Angel, due to being "iridescent", as he describes her. Dragonflies are also sometimes used to symbolise personal growth and self-realisation, which is reflective of Gillian's character development in Dark Angel. * It is possible that Gillian had met Sylvia Weald - a distance relative - prior to to the latter's death, as in Black Dawn, Sylvia complains to Hunter Redfern about how 'half-human' lost witches were accepted into the Harman family because their mothers and grandmothers were Harmans, whilst she was excluded due to her mother being from the Weald clan. It's highly possible that Gillian was one of the lost witches Sylvia mentioned. Appearances *''Dark Angel '' *''Soulmate '' *''Strange Fate'' References Navigation Category:Characters Category:Females Category:Protagonists Category:Former Lost Witches Category:Witches Category:Harman Family Category:Circle Daybreak